


Curiosity's Casualties

by caibi



Series: In and Out [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 04:25:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5276537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caibi/pseuds/caibi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Innocent bystander Marinette Dupain-Cheng gets injured when an akuma is set loose on the streets of Paris. When Chat Noir first brings her to get the medical attention she needs, he has no idea that these hospital visits would become a regular thing.</p><p>After all, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curiosity's Casualties

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write a marichat fic, and I had recently gotten a request to do just that from an anon on tumblr. It was the perfect incentive to get the ball rolling, I guess  
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> warning: for slight injury/blood. It's not too descriptive, but it's there. there's also a part where marinette isn't exactly sure what's real and what's not, but she's also just woken up from being knocked out so...

_I waited too long._

That's her last thought before she blacks out.

* * *

 Chat Noir sees her fall.

The dust had just barely cleared - revealing a stumbling, staggering girl. Within an instant, she's on the ground. He runs to her, shouting whatever comes to mind, whatever might be appropriate to check an injured person, or to reassure them.

"Are you alright?"

"Hey! Hey, say something!"

"Speak to me!"

He recognizes her, this girl. Bloodied and covered in debris as she is. 

"Marinette! Hey! Can you open your eyes?"

She doesn't respond. He looks around, sees a rock nearby. It's smudged with red, slippery and tainted. It must have hit her head, judging by the gash in her temple.

He recalls the end of the fight, trying desperately as his frazzled mind pieces things together.

Ladybug is gone; her transformation is definitely up by now. Chat knows that it took too long to take down the villain and release its akuma. She had activated Lucky Charm far too early, and her powers should only have just lasted until the akuma was cleansed. He remembered seeing its little white wings fluttering from harm.

He also remembers the destruction caused by the possessed villain: bits of stone flying everywhere, streets in ruin, people running for cover. The akuma had been wreaking havoc, leaving almost nothing unharmed. Even now, buildings continue crumbling. The aftermath is a mess of rubble, structures shaken and disturbed and unwilling to settle. 

Such was the fate of the library's north end. It had been on the verge of collapsing for some time - ever since the villain had knocked Ladybug into it not ten minutes prior. It had finally given way, its corner breaking off and finding its mark on poor, unsuspecting Marinette's head.

"Why were you here?!" Chat exclaims. "You shouldn't have been - you should have - "

He squints his eyes shut. "Argh!"

He picks her up, roughly and without much tact. He's had a long day, his muscles ache, and Marinette is unconscious. He hardly feels she would care how she's handled, so long as she comes out of this alive and well.

 

She's awake as they enter the hospital.

"Ch-Chat...is that...you?" comes Marinette's voice, slow and slurred and an octave lower than normal.

"Shh, don't talk," he tells her. She's still wrapped in his arms, extremely still and very stiff.

She stammers a protest but he hushes her again and, when he begins to raise his voice to call for assistance, covers her exposed ear with his free hand. Marinette responds in muted alacrity, nuzzling her nose to his chest and blocking out the world.

It only takes a minute for Chat to get someone's attention - who would say no to one of the city's saviors? - and to get his classmate help immediately.

After a few standard tests, they're brought to a room. A single bed, a television, two spare chairs, and a short side table occupy the space. There's a small, elevated window that faces a disappointing brick wall just outside. 

At one point, Marinette had been transferred over to a gurney. When she realized what was going on, she had begun to protest. She was only quieted when given Chat's hand to hold, and she hasn't let go of it since.

That about sums up her general level of coherence until this point. She's been oddly quiet, oddly subdued. Chat thinks about her behavior in class: lively and spirited, always the first to respond. Whenever he's near her, for some reason, she's always a bit clumsy. Even so, she's never still, never silent. 

Of course he's a bit worried.

The doctor tells him that she needs to rest - a good thing, too, because Chat can tell that his transformation's coming to an end. 

He whispers reassurance to Marinette: "I've got to go, okay? It will be alright, I promise. Your parents will be here soon." 

He gives her hand one last squeeze, and she mumbles something that probably translates to a "thanks" in near-comatose speak.

He makes sure the nurses know who to call about the girl's condition, then bolts out of the hospital as quick as he can.

* * *

 She's swimming. 

Not just her body, though. Not just her limbs, the appendages she doesn't have under her control.

It's her thoughts, too. They are her, aimlessly churning around, bubbling up and popping, dissipating, rising again. She can't quite distinguish self from non-self, her physical body from that which exists in her head.

Which way is up. Which way is down. Who is there. Who is not.

And she doesn't mind.

These aren't questions that she needs answered, not right now. She doesn't really need anything else - she's focused on the one thing she has definitely identified.

It's a low rumbling voice and warm, steady grip. It's the feeling of being grounded when she's up in the air, or tossing around in the sea, or wherever else she may be. But now she's starting to regain her sense of self - only after she had identified the other, the one who had kept her anchored.

When she calls his name, he hushes her.

She feels the warmth envelope her, and she turns into it.

To her, this is familiar. To her, this is comfortable.

When he lets go, she's swimming again.

When he lets go, she needs to know which way is up and which way is down. She needs to know who is there, who is not.

But then a hand is there, and it's his, and her breathing evens out. 

She relaxes into his reassurances, she believes him, and she continues to sort the world between existing and non-existing.

* * *

Marinette's condition is all anyone ever talks about at school the next day.

Maliciousness on the part of Chloé, who claims that it's all for attention. But for everyone else, it's all concern. There's some speculation there, but Alya sets the record straight: it was the result of an akuma attack, and Chat Noir had brought Marinette to the hospital.

The class (exempting Chloé and, by extension, Sabrina) decides that they'd pay her a visit.

 

Marinette has to be held in the hospital for another day or two. Her concussion was pretty bad, but not terrible to warrant any serious scans or medical procedures. She had also fractured her wrist upon falling, but that wasn't exactly fatal, either. She was simply kept for observation for the time being, making sure everything was normal.

She is overjoyed to see her classmates that day. Her parents, with adamant reassurance from Marinette, had returned to the bakery, so she had been alone.

Rose hands her a baggie of sweets, and Alya places a couple of fashion magazines at her bedside table.

Alix launched into a long story about Kim's mishap in physics earlier (he'd swung the string with an attached mass with way too much force, sending it flying, in all its centripetal glory, through the second-floor window).

Marinette laughs, asks questions, and laughs again at the thought of their teacher's scolding face. Kim complains, but Juleka says something to the effect of "Well, it was pretty rad," and Kim can't help but smile.

It's only when Adrien asks her how she's doing that Marinette throws herself into a frenzy.

He's a bit confused, a bit overwhelmed. She was talking normally with everyone just a minute ago, wasn't she? She's always this way around him, or, at least whenever he's in his civilian clothes. 

After the Evillustrator incident, heck, even after yesterday's horrific incident (as unconscious as she was), she acted at least halfway naturally around Chat Noir.

He takes note of this, wondering if there's something wrong with him. Wondering if Chat Noir really is better than Adrien Agreste.

He wonders about Marinette Dupain-Cheng's personality - why does she express herself so differently around his civilian persona than with his hero identity.

He wonders if his façade is really all that necessary if all it's doing is driving people away.

Adrien Agreste is curious.

* * *

 

She's surprised to see Chat Noir burst through the window that night.

"Chat, what are you doing here?" Marinette says carefully. Her first instinct is to berate him. As Ladybug, she can supply an endless amount of criticisms to her partner. But she knows she can't make it so obvious when she's unmasked and out in the open.

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would stop in and check on you. Is that alright?"

"Uh, sure," Marinette says with enough uncertainty to mask her true stability of comfort around him. "I guess I should thank you, then? I've been hearing that you were the one who brought me here."

"Ah, so you don't remember?" Chat asks, the slightest hint of disappointment on his face.

Marinette shakes her head. "I was...pretty out of it, as you could imagine," she knocks her knuckles against her head. "As I was, you know, concussed and all."

"Ouch," he says. "No need for the sarcasm, princess."

Marinette furrows her brow. He sure does love pet names, doesn't he?

She waves her hand dismissively. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get too far ahead of myself. I really am thankful, though." And she means it. As much as she loves to tease her kitty, she really does appreciate all that he does for her, whether he knows who she is or not.

"If I recall properly, this is the second time I've helped you out. The first time was back on that boat, when the Evillustrator was attacking."

"I'm not so sure I'd call that a proper 'rescue,' Chat. I mean, I did tell you how to get us out of that situation."

"Perhaps," Chat nods in fake contemplation. "But you know what they say: actions speak louder than words. And I was the one who actually got us out of that mess, remember?"

"Yeah, okay," Marinette agrees, if only to end the conversation. Her head was starting to hurt again and she really didn't need this.

"What's wrong, then?" Chat makes his way over to her bed and plops himself down. "You look troubled."

"It's nothing," she turns away, rolling her eyes. 

"Well, girls do tend to get quite troubled in my presence," he closes his eyes, nodding emphatically.

"Oh my god."

"Hm?"

"Nothing."

 

He visits again the next day. It's a Saturday, so he has no where else to be (until three, when he has a photoshoot), and Marinette would be discharged that evening, according to Alya.

He comes as Chat Noir. He found it interesting, their last exchange; Marinette had come out of the shell she seemed to occupy when she was around Adrien. She was teasing and level-headed and not quite as bumbling. He discovered that they could hold a proper conversation, and he could let his guard down in a way similar to his conversations with Ladybug.

She's just as surprised to see him this time as she was the last. Actually, he may dare to believe, she might be even more bewildered.

"Why are you here?" is the first thing out of her mouth.

"I assume we're skipping the formalities then," he responds in stride.

Marinette raises an eyebrow at Chat, pressing him to answer her. "Okay, fine. I'm here to check up on you again."

She looks confused.

Thinking (correctly) that this explanation may not be enough, he had had the foresight to bring along a bouquet of flowers.

"And, I have these," he holds them out to her. "It's pretty desolate in here. Rather dreary. Thought these would liven the place up."

Marinette takes the bunch from him, gently sifting through the assortment of daisies and daffodils and mums and baby's breath. She smiles, a bit softly like she doesn't want anyone to know, but she can't keep it from lighting up her features anyway.

Chat Noir is suddenly stricken with a dull pain in his chest, and he stumbles back ever so slightly.

The movement was enough to break Marinette from her concentration, and she lands her gaze right on him. "I'm going home tonight," she explains, narrowing her eyes at him. It's a natural consequence, she supposes, of being his partner: she's always wary of him. "I think I'll put them in my room then."

He coughs. "Good idea, good idea."

 

Chat's show up that night, when everything is settled and Marinette is leaning against her balcony.

"Hey, princess!"

Marinette jumps two feet backward and rests her weight onto her back leg - a proper fighting stance, born from reflex. If her right arm wasn't in a sling, she would look much more intimidating.

"Woah there!" Chat backs off. "I'd like to avoid being beaten up tonight, thank you very much."

Marinette recognizes his mocking tone, and decides to answer it with a punch, square on the shoulder.

Chat lets out a cry of pain and recoils for real.

"Actions speak louder than words, right Chat?"

"Oohhh I see what you did there," he says, rubbing his shoulder. "I can appreciate that."

She smiles, assessing the damage. "Good. Get used to that, too, if you're going to continue acting like a grade schooler."

She heads back into her room, waving for Chat to follow. "C'mon. You're here already. Might as well make yourself at home."

"Thank you," he says, trudging in and planting himself at the desk chair. He whistles. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks," she responds. "I tried cleaning it up a bit earlier, but it's not that fun with only one properly functioning arm."

Chat laughs. He really does enjoy her company. He's surprised, in all honesty, that it's Marinette of all people with whom he can be so comfortable. As Adrien, he could never imagine such a conversation taking place - between Marinette's general awkwardness and his own falsified personality, the room would sooner burst into flames than allow such lighthearted discussion to occur.

Marinette, on the other hand, is starting to warm up to the idea of hanging out with her partner so casually. She's only ever engaged with him in a 'work setting,' so she supposes she'd never seen the full extent of his personality in an environment that was so calm. It's odd for her to sort between her real life versus her hero life, especially now that Chat is turning up in both of them.

But it's appearing to be less unbearable than she'd previously thought.

 

Chat starts showing up at Marinette's house every other night now. 

She starts to wonder if he has no where else to go (she asks him once - he says he simply feels more comfortable in a lively atmosphere. She takes it to mean that his home life may not exactly be the most welcoming thing in the world, so she makes an effort to provide a safe space for him).

For Ladybug, on the other hand, it's getting increasingly hard to pretend like she doesn't know anything when they're out on patrols. Luckily, there haven't been any akuma lately, so she hasn't had to use physical force. So far, she's done a pretty good job at hiding her injured arm, and she doesn't think Chat has noticed. But for everything else, for all the little details she has discovered about him through Marinette, she avoids the problem completely. She can't remember whether she's had certain conversations behind the mask of out of it.

It's starting to mess with her head.

But they became fast friends, facilitated by Marinette's already stable foundation of trust with him. 

They've started sharing bits of their lives with one another.

Chat confirms her suspicions that yes, his family life may not be the best, but he admits that he can't complain as he's able to support himself financially. 

Marinette tells him about her designing endeavors, specifically the bowler hat she had created for a contest she'd won. Chat praises her, even giving her a few pointers on how to deal with real-life fashion designers and models (he claims that he has experience).

She starts to mention little details here and there about a boy in her class that she kind of has a crush on (Chat tries to deny the sinking feeling in his chest at that), and Chat tells stories about the adventures he has with his lovely Ladybug (Marinette tends to roll her eyes at the obvious exaggerations in his tales).

It's a comfortable relationship.

Until one night, after a long patrol, Chat turns up at Marinette's home.

He must have released his transformation momentarily, thinks Marinette, to give his kwami a quick reprieve.

It's a good thing, too, because if he'd showed up any earlier, he might have seen her release her own transformation.

She sees his troubled expression as soon as he appears. It's something she hadn't really noticed during patrols, but then again, she's spent most of that time avoiding conversation with him recently, if only to end the confusion between her civilian life and that of her alter ego.

"Chat?" she says when she spots him. "What's wrong?"

 Chat loves Ladybug, a fact he's hardly tried to hide. But she rejects his every move, and he wonders whether she'd still endure his company if there were no akuma to fight.

It's a scary thought; would his partner really seek out his company if they had no reason to work together?

He supposes that his feelings for her were unfounded, made from obligation and adrenaline-wrought situations. He really does care for her - they're best friends, after all. But recently, she's been avoiding him almost completely.

The only other person with whom he can be completely himself with was Marinette. He knows that if she truly didn't like his company, she'd tell him to get lost. She's a lot more blunt than he'd expected, so he knows that she genuinely cares about him, too. 

Marinette interrupts his train of thought. "Hey Chat?" she says, closer to him than he thought she was. There's concern etched between the lines of her face, brow furrowed and mouth turned down. "Are you okay?" she reaches out for his shoulder.

"No I'm - I'm fine," he gulps. "It's just - I don't know. I feel like my Lady just isn't...like she just doesn't care like I do."

Marinette continues to frown at him. He's one of her best friends. She should really be a but more surprised at the revelation, considering her level of intolerance for his flirtatious personality during the first few weeks of their friendship. But now it just seems to fit. 

She worries about him. Perhaps a little too much. And maybe it hurts her heart a bit more than is necessary to see him upset. He's done so much for her, and they're supposed to be partners, even if he doesn't know she's Ladybug. And partners are supposed to support each other. Maybe she's been slacking in this department. Maybe she feels a pang of guilt every time she sees his crestfallen face. Maybe she just wants to see him smile, laugh, get flustered.

And she thinks maybe, just maybe, she might love him. Just a little.

So she leans toward him.

Just a little.

And he meets her halfway, with just a little caring.

And there's a kiss. 

Just a little one.

"Well, Chat Noir, _I_ certainly care about you."

Chat's face softens, and he looks at her like she's the most important thing in the world. Like she's just told him a secret, an unthinkable truth. Something he wasn't supposed to know, but that he had stumbled upon anyway. He looks at her like she's just given him the key to happiness. He hasn't heard something like that in a long, long time.

"Marinette," he whispers, nudging his nose against her cheek. She lets him rest his hands on her waist, holding her tight. 

"Hm?" she responds, eyes closed.

"I care about you, too," he presses his lips to the corner of hers.

Marinette smiles, moving her head ever so slightly to kiss him back.

"Good," she tells him.

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaand then they reveal their identities to one another and have a big 'ol crying fest! sorry i didn't write that reveal part in. thought it'd be too drawn out. so you can rest assured that after all this, they find out each other's identities and it's all good B)


End file.
